Generics: What’s in a Name?

Certain brands become household names, garnering trust along with immediate name recognition. And this makes sense: when a brand’s been around long enough that we use its name instead of the actual item’s (Colgate, Kleenex, and Lysol, for example), chances are they’re a reliable company with a reliable product.

Being able to trust that you’re buying safe and effective goods is important in general, and especially important in medicine. With that said, you might’ve noticed that the medicines in our shop aren’t the big name brand options. So, what gives?

Generic Brands vs Big Name Brands: Fight!

Shakespeare wrote that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. But would medicines by any other name still work as well?

Medicines go through rigorous safety testing and patenting procedures. Eventually, those patents expire. And when they do, generic versions can be produced. These generic-brand medicines have the exact same chemical composition and active ingredients as the original name-brand versions. With the exact same medical ingredients, the only major difference is the brand name (though a very small percentage of people may experience temporary side-effects from changes in non-medical ingredients).

Actually, there’s one other difference: the price. Big name-brands tend to charge more than their generic-brand counterparts. The logic is that since you know the brand, you’re more likely to trust their products—that peace of mind comes with a premium price tag. But once you know that the generic version is actually made of exactly the same active ingredients, it’s a lot less scary (and a lot more affordable!) to go with the generic-brand option instead.

Are All Generics Created Equal?

Unfortunately, no. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is the governing body that monitors and controls consumer products like medicines, and FDA approval is what guarantees both the effectiveness and safety of a medicine. But some vendors offer products that haven’t been FDA-approved and can have any number of useless or even harmful ingredients.

To protect yourself, always make sure you’re purchasing medicines that have FDA approval. You can do this by checking for the product on the FDA website or by only buying from trusted vendors. We guarantee that all of Dima’s products have undergone FDA testing and approval, so you know ours is the good stuff!